Yesterday I welcomed the newest addition to my 1:200 model airliner collection, which as of right now only consists of 2 aircraft (so realistically it can’t quite count as a collection). It is the CXcitement (not sure how to pronounce this? excitement? see-ecks-citement? Cathay-citement?) 1:200 Boeing747-400 in Cathay Pacific Asia’s World City special livery (link to product page). I bought it for exactly 600HKD (or 77USD) at the big toy store near the check-in areas of Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1. As you can tell from the name, this 747-400 model is the official Cathay Pacific branded version, which they sell on their online store for the exact same price. While I wished for a 1:200 747-400 model in the standard Cathay livery, they are no longer produced and the only one I could find on sale was a second-hand version going for around 1380HKD (link to it here in case you’re interested). Not really worth it if you ask me.

Front of box

To start off, this model comes in a pretty large box that’s around 15x40x40cm and has a plastic handle on the top that’s helping save the planet by removing the need for a shopping bag. The box features a simplistic design incorporating the classic Cathay colors and their old logo. On the front of the box is a sketch of the aircraft with the CXcitement logo, the scale, and the words Asia’s World City.

Back of box

The back of the box is a bit more interesting with another photo of the aircraft, a corporate bullshit description of the livery, and technical specifications of the real aircraft (including scale drawings). The aircraft also features “precise” landing gear (very subjective) and engine fan blades that spin when you blow on them, which is kind of a useless feature if you ask me.

Inside the box

The box opens up sideways to reveal the included stand and the pre-assembled aircraft held in place by your standard plastic packaging. The aircraft itself is made of plastic and is therefore quite light, but the proportions are spot on (which is to be expected) and the paint job is very detailed, down to the Rolls Royce logo on the RB211 engines. The pitch of the landing gear changes when you move it, which is a nice added touch of realism.

Model and stand

My only beef with the model is the stand that it comes with; it’s crap. Made of plastic that’s visibly cheap, the stand is wobbly as hell and quite nerve-wracking as I’m scared that it’s going to collapse or break in case I bump it. Even this 1:200 Swiss A340-300 model that I bought in Zurich (see below) for 65CHF (67USD, 522HKD) has a full metal stand that’s extremely sturdy and quite good-looking.

Swiss 1:200 A340-300 model

Overall I’m satisfied with this CXcitement 1:200 747-400 model, though it was a bit on the expensive side and the plastic stand was a complete disaster. I have two more CXcitement 1:200 aircraft models (Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER) coming in the mail within the next few days, so stay tuned for more unboxings.